Social activist and Supreme Court lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy is now a household name for hundreds of distressed people across the nation. For his unrelenting struggle to protect the hapless people’s rights, he has earned accolades.
He was honoured by the Supreme Court Bar Association on the National law Day last year for a sustained fight to protect human rights of thousands of rural mass, mostly poor farmers.
Tripathy filed scores of cases for justice to hundreds of displaced people of Salandi-Nalia, Reba-Kapali and Gamei Kansbans projects in Bhadrak district. The rights activist has achieved three limca Records consecutively from 2011 to 2013.
He filed cases ranging from repatriation of Indians languishing in foreign jails, man-animal conflicts near various sanctuaries, murder of whistle blowers, bonded labourers, rape, acid attacks, displacements, police atrocities, fake encounters, absence of basic amenities, education, health, and environment etc in different national forums.
Tripathy is a life member of the Supreme Court Bar Association. While disposing a PIl (Writ Petition (civil) 399/2010) filed by him, a Bench headed by Justices Altamas Kabir and J Chelameswar described him, “a public spirited advocate,” in its order.
He is also instrumental in ensuring justice to poor SC/ST life convicts, under trials and juveniles.